A popular spot for beginners and experts alike, Shady Camp is a man-made weir located in the Mary River National Park, about two hours drive from Darwin. During run-off, , and even newbies have a chance to pull a metre-long catch on their first cast if they’re lucky.

Big trees, rock bars and run-off drains teeming with potential dinners make the Daly River a favourite of autumn anglers. Many Darwin fishing charters focus on the Daly, which features two-week long fishing competitions each dry season. A word of warning: snags and sandbars hidden by the tides can be potentially ruinous to outboard motors.

The vast floodplains of Kakadu and Arnhem Land are a catchment for much of the Territory’s rich underwater food chain, and when they drain, the baitfish turn the East and South Alligator Rivers into fishing Meccas. The 80-kilometre journey downstream to the East Alligator River’s mouth is a popular overnighter for Darwin fishers, but tourists may prefer to linger in the incomparable Top End atmosphere.

Eight times the size of Sydney Harbour and speckled with shipwrecks, mangroves and crocs, Darwin Harbour is a top choice for a day charter. The nearby open ocean provides a mix of pelagic and sports fish, from black jewfish and queenfish to longtail tuna and trevally.

Although the NT isn’t known for its beaches in the traditional sense, Dundee Beach is one of the Territory’s top holiday spots thanks to its unspoiled fishing. The comfortable amenities of the Dundee Beach Holiday Park make a longer stay seem like a good idea, while the ocean fishing and sheer variety of fish, from golden snapper to Spanish mackerel, will keep anglers happy.

Deceptive seven-metre tides hide one of the NT’s best fishing secrets: the Shoal Bay Lock-in. Once the tides fall, anyone caught out in the bay are “locked in” by a network of sandbars and, short of an aerial rescue, there’s no way out until the tide returns. It’s not all bad, as the build-up season brings a plethora of threadfin salmon and metre barra. Not for the faint-hearted, but worth the reward.

An hour from Darwin, the clear build-up season waters of Leaders Creek teem with tropical sportsfish and all sorts of bait. The water clarity makes all the difference to those looking for a big catch, as the fish aren’t hindered by sand and mud. The creek leads into the nearby Adelaide River, which is a fishing expedition all its own.